Package.



H. A. SEVIGNE.

PACKAGE.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 24, 1913.

1,104,739, Patented July 21,1914.

0?. 4. v W-gg specific order i lustrated and described heron UNITED STATES PATENT orrion.

HENBI' A. SEVIGNE, or wmrnnor, MASSACHUSETTS.

PACKAGE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented'July 21, 1914.

Application filed March 24, 1913. Serial 1103756588.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HENRI A. Si'ivromi, a citizen of the United States, residing at Winthrop, in the county of Suffolk and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Packages, of

the articles in wrappers without employing boxes. \Vhen boxes are employed, a surface or the surfaces thereof will provide a convenient areafor the overlapping of the flaps of the flexible wrapper such as paper, but

the expense of the box has to be considered, as well as the double operation of first placing the articles in the box, and then wrapping the box. If the merchandise is irregular 1n form, or if there are a number of the articles tobe Wrapped, it is diflicultto dispense'with the box and apply the wrapper smoothly and tightly, and so that it will not open in places, especially at the ends. I

The object of my invention is to save the material and space which is wasted when articles of merchandise are inclosed in boxes and wrapped, and still to provide a package which is securely wrapped and having all of the folds of the wrapper smoothly laid and secured by the final fold.

To these ends the invention consists in the package'which. I shall now proceed to describe and claim.

Figures 1 to 7 of the accompanying drawings illustrate in perspective, and successively, the several steps'which may be employed, althou h I do not limit myself to the inafter of the steps of the wrapping operation.

For the purpose of illustrating articles of merchandise,-I have chosen a palr of shoes,

indicated at a, but the articles may be of any by means of melted paraflin.

or; side edge will enable the final folds of the wrapper to be held thereagainst.

In carrying out my invention, I first assemble with the articles of merchandise a stiffener sheet or board b, which may be of pasteboard, or any other suitable material. Preferably, the stiffener is rectangular in form and has an area equal to, or slightly greater than the lateral area of the article or articles placed or iled thereon.

The wrapper o flexible material such as paper, preferably rendered moisture proof,

as by being treated with paraiiin, is rectan gular, and the operation of folding is such that all of the corners of the wrapper are turned in underneath the stiflener so as to beheld by overlying folds. While the wrapping maybe performed by hand, I prefer to use such a machine as is illustrated in my application filed January 11, 1911, Serial- No. 602,062, in which the successive operation of the folders is such as to cause the end folds to be so tucked inside other portions of the wrapper that said end folds will be held by the final flap, which is usually sealed,

The first operation consists of bringingitnes middle portion ofthe wrapper in contact with the to of the merchandise resting upon the stl ener and folding the wrapper across thetop and against the two sides thereof, as shown in Fig. 1. Then middle end portions 10 of the wrapper are folded against the ends of the article or articles, as shown in Fig. 2, while still leaving the corners and portions of the side edges of the wrapper unfolded and projecting beyond the ends of the stiffener b. The next operations are to turn thefo-lds or doubled portions 11, 12, of the wrapper toward each other and ov'erla them, as shown in Figs. 3 and 4'. Next, tli tions 13,14, are folded in against the bottom or stiffener b, as shown in Fig. 5, the two pairs of corners at opposite ends being turned toward each other. Then the flaps portions 15, 16, are overlapped upon each 0t er and against the bottom of the stiffener, the final flap 16 extending in the same direction as the outermost folds 12, at the ends of the package. It will thus be seen that any sealing operation of the final flap 16 confines all of the corners and underlying flaps and edge portions between it and the bottom or outer surface of the stiffener b. The edges of the corner portions 13, 14,

e overlapped corner por-,

of the wrapper are located against the bottom, or outer surface of the stiffener so that they will be held by the sealing of the final portion 15 tothe position of Fig. 6, as the next step after the Fig. 4 illustration, and then folding in the corners 13. The only difference is that by this last-mentioned order of folding, the corners 13, 14, will be confined between the flaps 15, 16, instead of between the flap 15 and the bottom or stiffener b. In eithe r case, the final flap 16, which, in praetice, is preferably sealed, confines and holds the opposite flap 15 and also all corners. 1

The stiffener gives form to the side of the package against which the final flap of the Wrapper is laid and sealed, and it also enables the final flap 16 to bind or hold between it and said stiffener the extreme end portions. of the wrapper. When the final flap is sealed, this insures permanence of the closure, so that the contents of the package cannot become exposed, nor acquire moisture, nor exude it. This is because all of the flaps are retained in closel overlapped condition, and this is done Without the employment of a box interposed between the wrapper and the articles.

It will be observed that the package when complete, has its top and two sides and portions of its ends, covered by only a single thickness of the wrapper material, and con-- sequently, there can be no bunching of the wrapper material at these points. The ends of the package, of course, have some overlapped portions of double thickness, com-"" prising the upper portions of the end folds 11, 12, but portions of these same folds 11, 12, including the corners 13, 14, are laid against the bottom of the package and confined there. The method of foldin is such that the portions 11, 12, at the en s of the packages are very smooth, and are held flat and do not project so as to be caught upon or by other objects, in such manner as to permit end portions "to be pulled out so asto open or partially open the package. In other words, the middle portions 10.0f the end folds are overlapped by doubled portions 11, 12, and the latter are held securely, due to the fact that the portions 13, 14, are drawn down and carried in under the bottom and held there, so that there is no bunching of the wrapper material at the ends of the package, such as would be liable to be pulled out. Without the stiffener b,

H; or some flat surface, it would be impossible to so fold the wrapper as to enable a final The terms designating certain portions of. v

the merchandise 'or complete package, such as top ends, sides, and bottom are employed in a relative sense for purposes of description, and without intent to limit myself thereby. It has been more convenient to explain the invention by the employment of terms such as quoted, but it will be obvious that if the merchandise were of other form, such terms might not so clearly apply as-when the merchandise is elongated in form. So far as the term "bottom is concerned, it is to be understood that I mean that portion of the package which supports or includes the final folds which are, in practice, preferably sealed;

' The figures of the drawing illustrate the steps in their sequence, as in the application -Ser. No. 602,062, but obviously, the packaging, when done by a machine, might proceed while the merchandise and the Wrapper are being moved in other than an upward direction. It is to be understood that theinvention relates especially to the packaging of arti-', cles of merchandise which are not only irregular in form, but of a yielding nature. Hard and uniform articles are easily wrapped in other Ways so that the flaps will not unfold or pull away.

I claim:

1. A package comprising a fiat stiffener, a

I plurality of irregular-shaped articles in contact with one surface of saidstiflener, and

a flexible wrapper in contact with the artiv cles and havin its edge portions turned in and folded against the other surface of said stiffener, a single. final edge portion overlying all the other edge portions.

2. A package comprising a fiat stiffener, merchandise supported by said stiffener, and a flexible wrapper completely inclosing the stiffener and merchandise and holding them "together, said wrapper having its edge por tions turned in and overlapped and folded against the bottom of the stiffener, a single final flap or edge portion overlying all other turned in edge portions.

In testimony whereof I have aflixed my signature, in presence of two witnesses.

HENRI A. SEVIGNE. Witnesses I A. W. HARRISON,

W. PEZZE'I'I'I. 

